05 Reaching for Perfection

By John Thiel, Preparation for the Close of Probation Conference, Study 5, mp3

Probation is a period of time in which we are to be sanctified, rendered holy and without fault before God.Jesus is at work to achieve that. We are to engage and participate with Him in that. That probation time is very, very close to coming to its completion. It is just like in the days of Noah, the people saw the animals coming into the ark; they could see that the door was about to close. For seven days those animals came. Then, after those seven days, if they would have listened and noticed the signs that probation was closing for them, they would have gone in the ark. But no, they were careless about it, they were scoffing.

We have some signs around us telling us that probation is very close to concluding – what is happening in the Middle East at the moment. A lot of people do not accept that the king of the north is the remnant of the Muslim empire. The Caliphate is being considered by the Muslim Brotherhood and by all these organisations in the Muslim religion that are aiming to put the Caliphate, which has once been relinquished in Turkey, into Jerusalem. When that happens according to Daniel 11:45, when he transplants the tabernacle of his palace in the glorious holy mountain, then Jesus stands up, and that is the close of probation. We are observing the signs of the close of probation. It is so imminent upon us.

The expression of Christ by which He announces that He has finished His work is given in Revelation 22:11 – Let him be holy still. When we are totally resigned to Him, totally given over to Him, when we have given Him our will as Brother A. T. Jones said, and we have resigned everything to Him, God can finish His work very quickly in us just like at creation. He created, He spoke and it happened. If we are in that position, like the planet was before it was created, just there ready for the Lord to speak and it happens, then God can hasten our preparation and make us holy.

As we realise that we have a part to play in cooperating with God, we can see what the conditions of holiness really are – The Ten Commandments The statutes and judgments and laws, the reforms of life that are written in God’s word. Also the fruits of the Spirit, all of which are part of being holy. Having studied that, we are filled with a yearning, I need to place myself in that position so that I can be like that, holy.

There is a certain point that comes to our appreciation now. We need very earnestly to apply ourselves, to do our part with earnestness. Our meditation Reaching for Perfection, is to show us that there is something that I need to do in the consideration of the kind of perfection and holiness that we are to attain to in the very near future when we must stand before God without fault. This consideration leaves us with a certain amount of urgency which makes us feel that this is urgent now, we must apply ourselves very diligently.

We have but a little time of probation left us, and let not one neglect the preparation of the soul for eternity. It is a terrible thing to be lost. Brethren and sisters, be determined that you will labor for unity. This is the grace to cultivate–love, precious love. “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” {21MR 331.4}

God is love (1 John 4:8). This is why this the most important part. This is the all-embracing terminology of holiness. Jesus said that love is the fulfilment of the whole law. The transcript of God’s character is the Ten Commandments; it is love. According to these words we are now brought face to face with this urgency to determine that we will labour for unity. That this grace, love, precious love, may be truly confirmed within us in this preparation for the close of probation.

Urgency

That urgency gives us a sense of anxiety. Am I going to be there? Am I going to be ready? But this urgency must not replace our joy and restfulness in Jesus Christ. Jesus has said, Come unto Me, and I will give you rest; but here we are in the urgency of reaching perfection, and we want to get this balance clear in our understanding. “I’ve got to be ready, I’ve got to be holy, and I don’t feel I’m holy; and there’s little time left, oh dear.” My restfulness is gone. When we feel that there is little time left and this urgency comes upon our chest, what should we do so that we can continue to rejoice in the Lord? I have this picture in my mind that when I am in trouble and I have someone who is my authority over me, for instance, as a child, if I disobeyed my mother and she was upset, I would run to her arms and say, Please forgive me. This is what we should do in the light of the urgency that comes upon us. When that sense that “I’ve got to be holy and I’m not!” strikes, I will run into the arms of Jesus and rejoice in His forgiving love and ask Him to help me.

Jesus is active in heaven as our High Priest, crying to God, Father, My blood, My blood! He Himself is focused upon my preparation.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Here is a comfort isn’t it? He knows that time is nearly out, and He looks upon you and me and says, “These are people who want to be holy, I don’t want them to perish. I didn’t want the others to perish either, but they don’t seem to care.” But for those who are really anxious and filled with the sense of urgency, He says, I don’t want you to be lost. So let us run into His arms. Isn’t He wonderful? In the heavenly sanctuary God and Jesus are very intensely active to help us, so that as I feel this urgency upon me and I run into His arms, He says, Yes, I am going to help you. He has a perfect photograph of our character in heaven.

As the artist transfers to the canvas the features of the face, so the features of each individual character are transferred to the books of heaven. God has a perfect photograph of every man’s character, {5BC 1085.4}

And what does He do with that photograph? Does He say, “Ugh, what an ugly character,” and throws it out? No.

…and this photograph He compares with His law. {5BC 1085.4}

What does He do next?

He reveals to man the defects that mar his life, and calls upon him to repent and turn from sin (ST July 31, 1901). {5BC 1085.4}

This is a precious thing when you are anxious about the fact that you still don’t feel right before God. God is at work, He is revealing to me the things that aren’t perfect; and as I get the sense of that, all that He is saying is, “I don’t want you to feel grotty about the fact that you are so evil and faulty; I am showing you so that you can come flee into My arms and be forgiven.” That is what it is about. The other statement that really captivates me is the following, where we see that in this imminence of the close of probation and the people not being ready yet, all heaven is astir. They are filled with urgency for us.

I saw angels hurrying to and fro in heaven, descending to the earth, and again ascending to heaven, {EW 277.1}

There is urgency, they are hurrying. For whom?

…preparing for the fulfillment of some important event. Then I saw another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message. Great power and glory were imparted to the angel, and as he descended, the earth was lightened with his glory. The light which attended this angel penetrated everywhere, as he cried mightily, with a strong voice, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” … The work of this angel comes in at the right time to join in the last great work of the third angel’s message as it swells to a loud cry. And the people of God are thus prepared to stand in the hour of temptation, which they are soon to meet. I saw a great light resting upon them, and they united to fearlessly proclaim the third angel’s message. {EW 277.1}

Fearlessly – if you are fearless, then you are at rest. As these people of God (and we want to be among those people) are receiving the extra-special benefits of these angels hurrying, the last angel – the Revelation 18 angel is the one mentioned here, the fourth angel – comes with great power, the power of the gospel, the fresh appreciation of Christ and His righteousness. That came in 1888, and it has been going on ever since 1888, and here we are now, living in the time of the imminence of probation closing. The angels must be hurrying even more now, just like we should be engaging very diligently together with them.

We are not to panic, but to move decidedly under the tuition of heaven. Heaven is active, very energetically going on to finish that last work, and we are called upon, not to panic, but to work in harmony, decidedly, under their tuition. They are the ones who are doing the fast work; all that we are called upon to do is to submit to that.

God calls for your affections, for your cheerful obedience and devotion to Him. You now have a short time of probation, and you may improve this opportunity {3T 364.2}

To do what?

…to make an unconditional surrender to God. {3T 364.2}

This has been the underpinning message all the way through – to place myself into such abandonment into the arms of God, and such an unconditional surrender, that the short time of probation that is left us can be improved. You can see that this is in harmony with what we have been considering all the way through this conference. When we are in that position of unconditional surrender, then our time of probation can be shortened very quickly because we can be made holy very quickly, at the power of the Word.

Heaven’s Appeal

As we have this urgency to reach out for perfection and the angels and Jesus and the Father are at work to help us to reach out for that perfection, we begin to be filled with this amazing sense of affection to God. God calls for your affections. How does He call for your affections? Does He say, I want you to love Me! Is that how He does it? No, He places before us a picture of this amazing love that He has, and as we look at Jesus, as we look at heaven anxious for us, doesn’t our heart begin to swell with affection towards God? I want to contemplate with you for a moment the following quote so that our affections will rise more vehemently towards God as we realise how I must now be engaged more intensely and more diligently in the preparation for the close of probation.

The plan by which alone man’s salvation could be secured, involved all heaven in its infinite sacrifice. The angels could not rejoice as Christ opened before them the plan of redemption, for they saw that man’s salvation must cost their loved Commander unutterable woe. In grief and wonder they listened to His words as He told them how He must descend from heaven’s purity and peace, its joy and glory and immortal life, and come in contact with the degradation of earth, to endure its sorrow, shame, and death. He was to stand between the sinner and the penalty of sin; yet few would receive Him as the Son of God. He would leave His high position as the Majesty of heaven, appear upon earth and humble Himself as a man, and by His own experience become acquainted with the sorrows, and temptations which man would have to endure. All this would be necessary in order that He might be able to succor them that should be tempted. {AG 345.2}

He did all this so that we could be prepared for the close of probation. He did all this so that He might succor them that are tempted.

When His mission as a teacher should be ended, He must be delivered into the hands of wicked men and be subjected to every insult and torture that Satan could inspire them to inflict. He must die the cruelest of deaths, lifted up between the heavens and the earth as a guilty sinner. {AG 345.2}

He is to be lifted up as a guilty sinner. I still remember when I first preached this message in the church I was in before and I pointed out that Jesus became a guilty sinner, did I get run down by the ministers; “You can’t call Jesus a sinner!” Well, here it is written, isn’t it? He was hung up between heaven and earth as a guilty sinner.

He must pass long hours of agony so terrible that angels could not look upon it, but would veil their faces from the sight. He must endure anguish of soul, the hiding of His Father’s face, while the guilt of transgression–the weight of the sins of the whole world–should be upon Him. . . . {AG 345.2}

He bade the angelic host to be in accord with the plan that His Father had accepted, and rejoice that, through His death, fallen man could be reconciled to God. {AG 345.3}

Doesn’t your heart vibrate at reading those words? I just find it so hard to keep my tears back. Not only that He was prepared to do that, but that the angels didn’t even want Him to. But then when He appealed to them they started to cooperate with Him in that work, and they hurry, because they want to hasten our preparation to get there by His help. This is for us to contemplate. He wants to help therefore He had to come and sacrifice Himself in the way that it is written here. For your own personal meditation, you need to take this and read it again and again and meditate upon it so that our hearts will be filled with affection to cheerfully obey Him. When that affection is there, nothing is too hard.

The more we contemplate these riches, the more we will come into possession of them, and the more we shall reveal the merits of Christ’s sacrifice, the protection of His righteousness, His inexpressible love, the fullness of His wisdom, and His power to present us before the Father without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. {AG 181.6}

Abundant grace has been provided that the believing soul may be kept free from sin; {AG 181.4}

This abundant grace that we have just been contemplating, what is it provided for? That the believing soul may be kept free from sin. If I want to be standing holy before God at the close of probation, what must I do? I am to behold this abundant grace. It is going to produce in me a position where I will be free from sin.

…for all heaven, with its limitless resources, has been placed at our command. We are to draw from the well of salvation. . . . In ourselves we are sinners; but in Christ we are righteous. Having made us righteous through the imputed righteousness of Christ [which is justification], God pronounces us just, and treats us as just. He looks upon us as His dear children. Christ works against the power of sin, and where sin abounded, grace much more abounds. {AG 181.4}

Every time you feel overwhelmed with the guilt of the sinfulness of your nature, remember that where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. The attitude of God is, These people want to trust Me, these people are relying upon Me, I am going to pour My grace and love upon them. When all these things happen to us and we feel overwhelmed about our condition, let us run into the arms of the Lord because that is what He wants us to do; instead of saying, I am never going to make it. We get overwhelmed because He has revealed to us the things that mar our life. We think, am I ever going to get there? People have said to me after I had showed them the message of the sealing as I was working with different individuals, Well, that leaves me out; I can never be like the 144,000. What a defeatist attitude, when God has done such wonders for us.

Are we going to be defeatist, or are we going to trust in God? No more any words like, I am not going to make it because that is an expression of negativity and distrust of God. Every time I feel this overwhelming sense of my sinfulness I am going to look upon this amazing, affectionate appeal of heaven, and it is going to do something for me.

The more we contemplate these riches, the more we will come into possession of them, and the more we shall reveal the merits of Christ’s sacrifice, the protection of His righteousness, His inexpressible love, the fullness of His wisdom, and His power. {AG 181.6}

We will reveal that as we contemplate that. These things give us this sense of hope and comfort because all heaven is there for our salvation. They have agreed with Jesus that they were going to go ahead with this work.

Partakers of the Diligent, Divine Nature

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

What is to be multiplied? Grace and peace through what? The knowledge of God. We have just discussed the knowledge of God – His character, His wonderful love – and the knowledge of Jesus our Lord, the two working together.

2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Through that knowledge, through that appreciation of the information we have received with a grateful heart and which fills us with affection:

2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Can you see a precious reality here? By opening our hearts to these details, we become partakers of the divine nature which is holiness. And that holy, divine nature that we receive by contemplating these things will be active within us.

This is our theme – preparation for the close of probation – making our calling and election sure, because we have received the divine nature by those precious promises. That nature is a diligent nature that makes our calling and election sure

2 Peter 1:10 …for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

What is that? An entrance is ministered unto us abundantly. Do we need to doubt? As we open our hearts to the knowledge that impacts our affections towards God, as this surrender is generated in us, we become so diligent, that divine nature becomes so diligent to make sure that all that God is saying I am going to submit to, even if it cost my life. It cost Jesus His life. Consider what the scripture means: we are to partakers of the divine nature, and with this nature we are to be diligent.

2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Are these not the items of holiness? We are to add them into our experience by diligence.

2 Peter 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make [you that ye shall] neither [be] barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We will not be barren or unfruitful; we will be holy when we engage with the divine nature in this diligent application. It is not righteousness by works; it is righteousness by the divine nature, which we receive by faith. The divine nature is imparted to us so that we can be diligent. How is it imparted to us? When we gaze upon the knowledge of these wonderful things that we have contemplated, and there are plenty more to meditate about. As we meditate on that we are enabled, we are strengthened, and we are encouraged. This is common sense. When you become elated by the amazing meditations of glory, is anything too hard for you? As soon as these ugly, creepy personality defects of us come as a cloud across our sense, we turn quickly to the beauty of Jesus, we run into His arms and it’s gone! But if we don’t run into His arms, if we mull around in the misery of our condition, we don’t have any power; we lose it. This is what it is talking about. The divine nature, the beauty of Jesus, will conquer these things. Because we have the divine nature we can. God regards us as just. He has imputed to us Christ’s righteousness.

As we look at this justification, it is a gift, I have it, I am a child of God. Why should I doubt anything? I am His child. I am in the school of Christ. I am learning, I don’t have to sit there full of anxiety. This is what I used to do as a child; I was scared of school because I was under stress, trying to remember my times table, and doing all those things. It was not until later on that I learned I could actually relax and remember much better. That is what the Lord is trying to tell us. He is taking away the anxiety, and the stress, so that we can think clearly, and we can actually function without any inhibitions in-between. This is what we need to open our hearts to.

The more we contemplate these riches, the more we will come into possession of them, and the more we shall reveal the merits of Christ’s sacrifice, the protection of His righteousness, His inexpressible love, the fullness of His wisdom, and His power to present us before the Father without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. {AG 181.6}

We are living in the day of preparation. We must obtain a full supply of grace from the divine storehouse. The Lord has made provision for every day’s demand. {AG 181.7}

As we meditate on these precious words we think, “Nothing is going to give us any problems any more. We are really touched by the Lord; it’s going to be fine now.” We have those beautiful senses, don’t we? At this time. “I can’t go wrong anymore. Wonderful.” Well, let us abide here and really drench our soul with it. We must nerve ourselves to engage in this and make it happen.

Point the youth to Peter’s ladder of eight rounds, and place their feet, not on the highest round, but on the lowest, and with earnest solicitation urge them to climb to the very top. {Mar 84.2}

“Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge.” Start on faith, and then you climb.

Christ . . . is the ladder. The base is planted firmly on the earth in His humanity; {Mar 84.3}

Jesus is right there beside me in the mud, with all my sins upon Him. He was there a guilty sinner with me. That is the bottom rung of the ladder.

…the topmost round reaches to the throne of God in His divinity. The humanity of Christ embraces fallen humanity, while His divinity lays hold upon the throne of God. We are saved by climbing round after round of the ladder, looking to Christ, clinging to Christ, mounting step by step to the height of Christ, so that He is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity are the rounds of this ladder. All these graces are to be manifested in the Christian character; and “if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” {Mar 84.3}

Do not become overwhelmed with the great amount of work you must do in your lifetime, for you are not required to do it all at once. Let every power of your being go to each day’s work, improve each precious opportunity, appreciate the helps that God gives you, and make advancement up the ladder of progress step by step. Remember that you are to live but one day at a time, that God has given you one day, and heavenly records will show how you have valued its privileges and opportunities. May you so improve every day given you of God, that at last you may hear the Master say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” {Mar 84.5}

There is a statement in Early Writings where the accompanying angel of Sr. White says something very relevant.

Said the angel, “Deny self; ye must step fast.” Some of us have had time to get the truth and to advance step by step, and every step we have taken has given us strength to take the next. But now time is almost finished, and what we have been years learning, they will have to learn in a few months. {EW 67.2}

This is our present situation because probation is very soon to close. While others have had a lifetime, years, to move on step by step, now we have only a few more months left. We have to learn in a few months what others have learned in a lifetime. This is the fast exercises that are now required. This work is due to the divine nature that is given to us. The beautiful work of climbing up this ladder is powerfully brought to our understanding,

We may make daily progress in the upward path to holiness and yet we find still greater heights to be reached; but every stretch of the spiritual muscles, every taxation of heart and brain, brings to light the abundance of the supply of grace essential for us as we advance. {AG 181.5}

As you are advancing, as we exercise that divine nature and that spiritual muscle, and we tax heart and brain, it brings more and more to light the power of God that comes to you. If you know that under the ladder there is a fire coming up, what are you going to do? The time of trouble is now just about ready to start, and probation is just about ready to close, aren’t you going to get an extra spurt of energy, mounting up those steps real fast? All these objects lessons are plain to us; this is what God is saying. As you head upwards in the little time that is left, you can step fast. Yes, you will suffer together with Christ, and this is what all these messages have been conveying to us.

And as we near the close of this earth’s history, we advance more and more rapidly in Christian growth, {2MR 231.2}

Because you are heading up to the last moments of it, the urgency gets stronger, but we have the strength, and the further we exercise that spiritual muscle, that divine nature, the more power we get; and we can scramble up that latter very quickly.

All these statements of the Spirit of Prophecy are telling us that we are to climb and to gain this ability to climb and suffer together with Jesus, because we have the divine nature. We are justified and that justifying imputed nature of Christ is the functioning force by which we can be sanctified quickly. If we are confronted by hindrances, if there are things that we know so well we are going to meet as we head off after this conference back into our daily life, what is going to help us?

Many are the hindrances that lie in the path of those who would walk in obedience to the commandments of God. {4T 147.3}

Many are they. Haven’t you felt them? Don’t we know it? Isn’t it the reason why Adventists today are teaching that you can’t reach perfection? We are surrounded by so many hindrances.

There are strong and subtle influences that bind them to the ways of the world, but the power of the Lord can break these chains. He will remove every obstacle from before the feet of His faithful ones or give them strength and courage to conquer every difficulty, if they earnestly beseech His help. All hindrances will vanish before an earnest desire and persistent effort to do the will of God at any cost to self, even if life itself is sacrificed. {4T 147.3}

At any cost to self – what will happen when you are totally surrendered? All hindrances will vanish before an earnest desire and persistent effort to do the will of God at any cost to self, even if life itself is sacrificed.

Light from heaven will illuminate the darkness of those, who, in trial and perplexity, go forward, looking unto Jesus as the Author and Finisher of their faith. {4T 147.3}

In today’s circumstances we are surrounded by multitudinous hindrances. What are they? There are strong and subtle influences that bind them to the ways of the world. Haven’t we felt it? Don’t we feel it? Relatives, church affiliations that are going the wrong way, and we are trying to be faithful and we have to separate. It is very hard. That is what we are seeing around us today. People are saying, It’s just too hard, I have to let my relatives go and I’m going to be in trouble because I’m dependent upon my relatives. Well, it’s time to get released from our relatives so that we can be dependent on God. Yes, it may be that I am going to be thrown into a position where I am going to die. Trust the Lord. That is when these hindrances will vanish because when we truly trust in God, God will provide a way of escape.

This is the message of reaching for perfection. It is going to be so difficult, but by the divine nature we can achieve that. Let us therefore join with Apostle Paul in conclusion. Here is exactly what we are to engage in in harmony with everything we have been reading, and motivated by the things we have contemplated:

Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Having highlighted Jesus and his relationship with Him, he then says:

Philippians 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

How has Jesus apprehended us? We are His children. We are the sons of God together with Jesus. This is what we want to have at the close of probation, so I make an effort to attain unto that. I haven’t yet, I am not perfect yet, but I follow after, so that I can reach what I am apprehended for of Christ.

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but [this] one thing [I do], forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. 16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. 17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

Now, that is profound. If Apostle Paul was here today, standing here preaching to you, and if I was in his position and speaking now, and I would say to you, Brethren, be followers together of me, you would stone me, wouldn’t you? Maybe not you, but many do. This is weird. The hindrances of the human mentality and pride of today have stopped people from being able to understand the beauty of the presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ at the hand of the ministers. People don’t want that today. This is the peril of our time. But here the apostle Paul is saying, “Do as I do; I am pressing on, I am concentrating on Jesus. If you want to be saved together with me, follow the example. I am following Jesus,” he says. “Follow me as I follow Him.” It is what we used to do as children, Follow the leader. It is just a fact that we are in single file up that narrow path. And the one that is in front of me is the one I am following, because he is following the one in front of him, right up to the front where Jesus is. That is where we are at. We are now doing a final sprint, a final preparation.

We have received the precious answers from God’s word. Let us be animated, let us follow on, as Apostle Paul said, I want to know the sufferings of Christ, I want to be together with Him, I want to be pursue together with Him. As He is working for our salvation in the heavenly sanctuary and we are looking to Him and letting the angels help us, we are going to get there very rapidly. We are going to spring up that ladder because we have the answers that are given us to be ready for the close of probation. May God help us.

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